MTA supports Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston

The Massachusetts Teachers Association supports Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston and similar protests across the country that are calling attention to political and economic systems that unfairly reward the wealthy at the expense of everyone else and are contributing to high levels of unemployment and economic insecurity.

Although the protesters express diverse views, a unifying message is that financial and political institutions must be held accountable for the excesses that led to the current economic crisis, the struggles of the middle class and the growing wealth gap in the United States.

The MTA shares these concerns. We believe:

Strong educator unions are needed to defend the interests of our students, many of whom are not able to reach their full potential because of the lack of necessary resources and supports in their schools and communities.

Strong unions are needed to hold corporations and politicians accountable for how their policies affect working men and women.

Strong educator unions are needed to defend the interests of teachers, higher education faculty and other education staff – public servants who have been under attack in many states by those who mistakenly believe that organized labor is responsible for the country’s economic ills.

Progressive tax reforms are needed to make sure the wealthy are paying their fair share and to guarantee adequate funding for education and other public services that are essential to the successful functioning of our democracy.

We encourage MTA members to participate in peaceful protest actions that call attention to these inequities and that seek reform of the financial regulations, campaign finance rules and tax codes that so handsomely reward the 1 percent at the expense of the remaining 99 percent.